In Autumn 2013, Fiorucci Art Trust presented the first instalment in Lezioni D’Italiano, a series of artist lecture performances. Curated by Fiorucci Art Trust Director, Milovan Farronato, these evening programmes present Italian artists, or those that address Italian subject matter, once a month at the Trust’s HQ at Sloane Avenue. From December 2013 through to June 2014, artists of different generations show work that explores and expands the nature of their practice in the uniquely intimate environment of the residential HQ, creating a dynamic platform for participation and engagement.

Lezioni D’Italiano began with artist Patrizio Di Massimo on Monday 2nd December, followed by Chiara Fumai on Monday 27th January and Liliana Moro on Monday 17th February.

Patrizio Di Massimo presented a performance titled Monologue for two. The work is a monologue in the shape of dialogue between the artist and a video that portrays the artist. Di Massimo is on stage physically but hidden behind a curtain; the video is instead realized with Morfo, an iPhone application that creates 3D avatars through processing a simple bi-dimensional portrait picture. In this work the artist deals with multiple projections of the self, in relation to reality and imagination, to what he could have been and what he is. Monologue for two is an intimate self-portrait, in which the artist invents himself for what he is.

Each lezione features a concurrent food element, conceived by Italian food design studio Arabeschi di Latte. Responding to a culinary understanding of a lesson as a series of instructions as contained in a cookbook, Arabeschi di Latte reinterprets dishes in collaboration with chef Lucas Dominguez, inspired by the traditional Italian cookbook.

Nicoletta Fiorucci, founder of Fiorucci Art Trust, says: “Fiorucci Art Trust works with artists from all around the world, but we wanted to do something specifically for artists from Italy or who engage with Italy in their practice. London offers so many opportunities for these artists which perhaps they are unable to find elsewhere, and we wanted to capitalise on this to create something truly exciting for all kinds of audiences.”

Also on show at the HQ at the same time as the first Lezioni will be Marc-Camille Chaimowizc’s installation, Cabinet Cocteau. Originally shown at Tate Modern’s A Bigger Splash show last year, the work is updated and transformed in the uniquely residential environment of the Fiorucci Trust HQ, taking over the entire first floor living room space. A major new installation by Goshka Macuga Death of Marxism, Women of All Lands Unite, was also on display.

Patrizio Di Massimo, Untitled (my father emulating me), 2007

Patrizio Di Massimo (b. Jesi, Italy, 1983) lives and works in London. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera, Milan, and received his MA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London. He is currently exhibiting at Gasworks, London, with the solo show The Lustful Turk. He has participated in residencies at Stipendium Kunstzei- traum, Munich (2012), de Ateliers, Amsterdam (2009-2011), Sommerakademie at Centre Paul Klee, Bern (2010), Fondazione Spinola Banna per l’Arte, Banna di Poirino (2009). His upcoming exhibitions include solo presentations at Artissima, Turin, Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon, Rowing Projects, London. Recent solo exhibitions include Voglio Vivere Così, T293, Rome, The Lustful Turk, Villa Medici, Rome and a performance at the Stedelijk Museum as part of the public program. In 2012 he was selected as a finalist in the Premio Italia 2012, hold at MAXXI, Rome and participated in La Storia che non ho vissuto (testimone indiretto), Castello di Rivoli, Rivoli, Ritual without Myth, Royal College of Art, London.

Chiara Fumai, I Did Not Say or Mean ‘Warning’, 2013. Photo by Emiliano Aversa

Arabeschi di Latte is an Italian food design studio founded by Francesca Sarti in 2001. Blurring the boundaries be- tween food and design and using food as a tool to com- municate, Arabeschi di Latte has created and exhibited a variety of food-related projects such pop up café, special dinners, performances and workshops around the world. Among the projects realized are pop-up cafe Pastificio, pre- sented for the first time in Tokyo in 2009; interactive instal- lations such as The Archeo Mill for The Future Food House curated by Marije Vogelzang in Rotterdam; special food consultancies for brands including Fendi, Bally, Kenzo, San Pellegrino, Boffi, Discipline Design and galleries such as Phillips De Pury; and fruitful collaborations with Stu- dio Toogood, Design Marketo and Apartamento Magazine.

Arabeschi di Latte, Underkitchen, 2011

Fiorucci Art Trust was founded by Nicoletta Fiorucci in 2010 to promote contemporary art in both conventional and unconventional ways. With Milovan Farronato as Director, the Trust provides collaborative support for artist projects as well as publications and exhibitions. Fiorucci Art Trust stages Volcano Extravaganza, an annual artist-run month of art and design on the island of Stromboli. The Trust also supports institutions such as Studio Voltaire, Serpentine Gallery, Gasworks, Kunsthalle Basel, and runs an annual fellowship at Rijksakademie van beeldende Kunsten of Amsterdam.